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It's from Adventure Time:

We'll work together and use that serum you made. The one that was "Ah! So Spice!" And spice-bomb him non-stop 'till his butt falls out! How's that sound?

To make it clear, they're just pranking the guy to irritate him and make him go away.

What does this phrase mean, both literally and idiomatically?

I know that hair or teeth can fall out, but I can't picture a butt fall out.

Or does fall out mean leave here as in:

It's late, George. I have to fall out.

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  • We have this in Persian that means making the annoying persons notorious by bothering them since their butts fall out of their pants and make them embarrassed or notorious! But I am wondering if it has the same meaning in the English language! I am curious to know it. &^) May 22, 2013 at 11:59
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    @PersianCat No, nothing like that. It's not an idiom at all in English. It's just a ridiculous phrase from a children's television show exaggerating for effect. May 22, 2013 at 14:28
  • Ken, you're right that it's not an idiom in English. That's partly because the word "butt" in this context (meaning bottom) does not have that meaning everywhere in the English speaking world. In England and the rest of the UK for example, it does not mean that.
    – Tristan
    May 22, 2013 at 15:33

2 Answers 2

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As with the vast majority of the content in Adventure Time, this phrase is intentionally nonsensical. It is by no means idiomatic in every day English. With that said, based on the given context, here's my best guess:

Since the serum they are planning to make is highly spicy and therefore highly acidic, the thought is that the digestive process will painful for their target, especially during the final stage of the process (excretion). If you've ever eaten too many jalapenos, you know what I'm talking about.

It is fairly common in American comedy at least (I can't speak for the UK or elsewhere) to exaggerate the effects of an action to the extreme for comedic effect. This is especially true in children's comedy, such as Adventure Time. So please don't take it literally when the speaker talks about the target's "butt fall[ing] out". It won't really, but if the serum is as spicy as they hope, the target may wish it would because of the pain involved.

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You're right, butts don't fall off, but that doesn't prevent us from using that expression: e.g., laughing my ass off, working my butt off, freezing my ass off, etc. There's even a blog entitled Bowling My Butt Off. It's simply an informal and irreverent way of saying "to an excessive degree."

The pranksters simply mean, "We're going to spice-bomb him a lot!"

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